Only One
by Then Darkness Fell
Summary: Gaz is chosen. Once you're chosen, they can track you. They can find you. They can take you. When Gaz finds herself in a game of strategy, wits, and strength, can she survive till the end, or will she make an unlikely alliance and learn the secret of her past? Slight ZaGr. Cowritten by Invaderness. Invader Zim
1. The Final Nightmare

The Final Nightmare

The Membrane house hold was slowly becoming silent as night fell upon the home of the great scientist.

Harley Membrane's night gown swished around as she finished putting away the dishes from tonight's dinner. She peered out the small window behind the sink to gaze at the stars, as she so often did.

She thought it perplexing that tonight there seemed to be one star brighter than the rest. Maybe it was her paranoia of extraterrestrial life, or her knack for being keenly observant, but the star definitely looked brighter than the rest. She sighed.

It had been a long day at the lab, she was probably seeing things. Or perhaps it was a planet. She was too tired to ponder on it too long, her mind was exhausted.

Working at a lab and taking care of a family wasn't an easy job. Sliding the last dish into its slot, Harley closed the dish washer.

She knew the routine from this point on. First she would check on Dib, who would never go to sleep when she told him to. Then she would check on Gaz, who has already been put to bed. She would do this every night, go to bed, and then be woken up momentarily by her husband coming home late from the lab, both of them being extremely successful scientists.

She dried her hands and began to climb the stairs. The stairs creaked under her slippers and she winced, hoping she hadn't woken up Gaz, who would wale for hours if awoken.

She sometimes thought about Gaz and Dib who were very smart for their ages. Gaz being one year old, and Dib being three years old. She loved her children with all her heart, and she wished she could have more. If only her job didn't occupy so much of her time. She already didn't get to see them as much as she liked. Science though, she valued almost as high as her family, and felt she couldn't live without.

As she reached the last step at the top of the stairs, a shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes immediately flickered to Gaz's bedroom door, which was the first one on the left, facing the backyard. Harley tiptoed towards her daughter's door, careful not to make a sound, slowly opening it to peer inside.

She saw Gaz sleeping peacefully in her crib, the light from the moon bathing her in a pale glow. Harley looked out the window. There was that star, standing bright among its brethren. It seemed close, floating there but actually light years away. Harley smiled, her nervous feeling gone.

She slowly tiptoed to the crib. Gaz's silky locks of striking purple hair were gently lying in her face. Harley carefully moved the hair out of her child's face. The light from the moon made Gaz's pale skin seem luminous. "I love you Gaz." She whispered as she gently kissed her forehead. Harley turned around and slowly shut the door. Her last glimpse of Gaz was her peacefully resting in her crib.

Harley walked over to Dib's room quietly. She pressed her ear against the door. She heard the hushed flipping of pages.

"Not again..." She moaned.

She opened the door to find Dib with the covers over his head, his reading light showing through the baby blue sheets decorated with UFOs. She slowly pulled the sheet off of Dib's abnormally big head. No one knew why it was so big. Harley had to have a sea section when Dib was born because his head wouldn't come out. Dib looked up at her sheepishly, snapping his book shut.

"I wasn't doing anything mommy." He said.

Harley laughed. You think he'd be able to come up with a better excuse considering he was smart enough to read magazines at age 3. Harley sighed and plopped down next to Dib on the bed.

"Watcha reading then?" She asked, examining the discarded book.

It was one of her magazines about space exploration, particularly, extraterrestrial life forms.

"Following in your mom's footsteps huh?" She asked with a weary smile.

Dib could only nod; still convinced he was in trouble. He should be, considering he'd been told countless times to go to bed when asked to. Harley was tired though, too tired for punishing. She smiled as an idea popped into her mind.

"Oooh you better be careful, you don't want the aliens to know you're learning too much about them.

"Why not mommy?!" Dib asked sounding alarmed.

Harley paused for a moment, looking both ways as if to make sure no one was listening. She beckoned for Dib to come closer.

"Because…They'll…GET YA!" She whispered tickling Dib.

Dib let out a laugh and his mother frantically shushed him. She looked in his eyes and there was a mutual understanding. Wake Gaz up and they went down together. Dib knew the next part. He sadly hopped onto the bed and let his mother tuck him in.

"Go to sleep Dib, for mommy." She whispered and she kissed his forehead.

Harley picked up the magazine and quietly walked out of Dib's room, slowly shutting his door which was especially creaky.

Finally all was right and she could go to sleep. She walked longingly down the hall, her eyes fixated on her bedroom door. She was tired; she craved sleep like the starving craves food.

Maybe if she hadn't been so infatuated with rest, she would've heard the whispers. She might've heard the quiet footsteps. She might've heard the sliding sound of the window opening. She was in a daze, and the bed was close. She collapsed into the inviting comfort waiting in the mess of sheets. Her last thoughts lingered on the star, the very bright star, then, crying erupted from down the hall.

She hurled herself out of bed, the sound of her child crying shooting adrenaline through her veins. Harley ran down the hall to her darling child's bedroom. She threw open the bedroom door and was blinded by the gleaming light.

Two silhouettes stood in the window. Their bodies were unnatural, their backs long and hunched, something sticking out from the back that she might have identified as a spine. Their arms were long with talon like hands that could pierce steel with one swipe.

Her eyes darted towards Gaz, and all at once a story from her childhood came back to her. She dashed for her, sweeping her out of the crib. The figures started towards her, their talons outstretched.

"Stay in your room Dib!" Harley cried as she ran down the stairs. She ran past the front door, then the kitchen, then the living room. She stopped by the basement door.

The basement was where they kept their at home lab. She typed in the code urgently and she heard the figures slowly walking down the stairs. They knew she had no chance to survive, no way of escaping their clutches. Harley stumbled down the stairs. Gaz had stopped wailing, as if she knew she must remain silent.

"The door will keep them out for a while, but not long enough." Harley said as she quickly scanned the tables. There was a smoke bomb lying on the table. She slid it under the door, but didn't stay to hear the outraged cries come from the creatures. Harley took Gaz further into the lab.

"Oh my little Gazlene what evil have I brought upon you? I should've known they'd come back, they want revenge for what my mother did."

Harley reached around her neck and took off her most precious belonging. A necklace with a skull pendant attached.

"Gaz, listen carefully, you are a smart child and mommy loves you very much." Her mother chided in a rushed but soft tone.

A tear or two slipped from her eye. Pull it together Harley. She thought.

"You've been chosen. If you're chosen, they'll track you. If they track you, they'll find you when you're of age. When they find you, they'll take you."

Harley put the necklace around Gaz, who smiled as if nothing was wrong.

"This will make it hard for them to sniff you out. It will block their tracking signals, but you're still in danger. The mark on your arm, never show it to anyone, never show it."

The sound of a door being knocked down echoed through the lab. Smoke rolled in as the two figures stepped in, now illuminated by the light. They were hideous, beady eyes, scrawny bodies, yet Harley knew what they were capable of. She hugged Gaz tight.

"I love you Gaz." She whispered, tears streaming down her face. One figure approached, holding up a gun. All the garbled noises the monsters had made up to this point were unrecognizable, but these words Harley could understand.

"Only One" The creature hissed, as it decorated the floor with the blood of a mother.

XxxxX

I jolted upright, my body shaking from the terror I had just experienced. I hugged myself, rocking back and forth on my bed, trying to collect my thoughts.

It was that dream again, the one of my mother speaking to me, warning me. I'd been having it since I was 5. This time, though, there was more. My dreams had always consisted of one part, my mother's warning.

Now I had seen the entire night, the creatures, my brother, everything. It was enough to make me shudder. After having these dreams for so long, I never thought they'd change. Now, it was ten times worse than before.

I could still remember her face, her eyes filled with love, and then their emptiness as she fell to the ground, never to whisper "I love you Gaz" Ever again.

It was only a dream though. I had asked my dad countless times what had happened to my mom, and I got the same answer every time. He said that they found mom in the lab, her lying on the floor with a gun in her hand.

I suppose the dream was just a way for me to cope with the truth. My mother committed suicide, for an unknown reason. She left behind her family she loved and cared for. One thing about the dream was true though, I did have my mother's skull necklace.

I clutched the pendant and stroked it with my thumb. Before my mother's end, she gave me the necklace. I've had it since I was born, and I feel like it's my only connection with my mom.

I've had it checked out of course, and it's just a regular necklace, no device inside, just a hollow wooden pendant.

"Gaz! C'mon we're gonna be late!" Dib yelled in his annoying voice.

"I'll be ready in a few, you go without me."

I was tired and shaken up. The last thing I needed was to be forced to listen to Dib's rambling.

"Are you sure Gaz?!"

"YES, I'm fine, now leave stupid!"

I heard shuffling and then the door closing. I slowly moved my feet onto the floor and stood up. I felt like I had taken a punch to the gut.

I growled "Get it together, it's just a stupid dream, besides, you don't have a mark on you, there's nothing to it. It was just a pointless dream."

I'm pretty good at shutting things out that scare me. I've been doing it since I was little. Just turn your sadness into anger then nothing can hurt you.

I pushed the dream out of my mind, settling back into my usual routine. I opened my closet, the dark shades of purple pleasing to my eyes. I searched through my closet for something matching my mood, pissed off.

I saw a long sleeved black shirt with a skull printed on it. I slipped it over my undershirt. It was a little snug, but I hardly cared. It was a longer shirt, coming down a little past my hips.

Then I put on purple leggings about the shade of my hair and strapped on my black combat boots.

I looked in the mirror studying myself. It made me embarrassed. I was supposed to be mean, to not care what I looked like, but I occasionally caught myself gazing into my mirror.

When I was younger my body was flat like a newspaper. Now I look in the mirror and see that not much has changed. I can see the curves a little now, little hints that I'm growing.

I run a brush through my violet hair which used to be short and tame. Now it seems long and wild, which I hate.

I look at my arms, which are the best things about me. Because of my bodies petite build, they look skinny, but I'm the only girl at school who can do more than 10 pull-ups, though I'm never motivated enough to try.

I shook my head, ashamed at myself. If anyone saw this side of me they'd laugh. Gaz the irritable girl with a bad temper staring at herself. I'd laugh too if I weren't her.

I abruptly turned away from the mirror and picked up my GS3. The only thing in this world that allowed me to tune out whatever problem I confronted. In a way it was my only friend. I threw my backpack over my shoulder and walked down the stairs. One of them creaked, and it reminded me of Dib's door in our old house, the one that was especially creaky.

I opened the door and began to walk to school. I buried myself in my gameslave, my legs going on autopilot. After walking to high school in this fashion for a year I had memorized every crack and bump. I focused on slaughtering my enemies, no vampire piggy was safe.

Everything was as it should be until I bumped into _him. _

I fell to the ground and held my head in my hands.

"Watch where you're going, idiot" I said.

Anyone who wasn't an idiot would've run from me, knowing the consequences would be dire. He, however, wasn't exactly smart.

"No you watch where YOU'RE going STINK BEAST!" Zim yelled in his unnaturally annoying voice.

I growled but decided to let it go. I needed to get to school. I got up and pushed past Zim, muttering some words I believe he was very astonished to hear directed at him.

I put my gameslave away, not bothering with it. I was already out of the "Zone". I couldn't help but let my thoughts wonder to that sorry excuse of an invader. He had been here five years and still hadn't managed to conquer Earth.

He had been getting better though, as time went on. Once or twice he actually almost did it, but was stopped by Dib, who had also become more diligent.

I also was perplexed by how Zim was growing. Apparently, Earth's gravity was changing him, making him taller. He was taller than me, but I'm fairly short for my age. His ego hadn't changed though. Still a few brain cells short of a potato's intelligence.

I remembered 7th grade when he came to me, and he asked me to a dance because he thought it would enrage Dib. I said yes, only because I thought it would be funny to see them fight.

Zim and I might've been on different sides when it came to enemies, but we had some things in common. I began to remember what happened in eighth grade….

"No Gaz! You promised you'd never think about that again." I said, mentally slapping myself.

I walked through the school doors, the halls halfway cleared out as the minutes to tardiness ticked. I casually strolled to my locker, kids automatically moving out of my way.

When I got to my locker I saw the person I least wanted to see, Molly Hoover. She stood there with her group of girls, snickering and pointing at me.

"Oh look, its Goth girl, we were just talking about you." Molly said a smirk across her face.

"Huh that's funny; I thought I smelled a rat." I said, glaring at her.

Molly seemed to ignore my comment. "We wanted to know, since your dad is a scientist and all, can he come up with a serum to make you less revolting?"

Her clique laughed as if it were the funniest thing they had ever heard.

I growled. "Get out of here before I make your ugly face even uglier with my fist."

Molly scoffed "C'mon girls lets go, wouldn't want to be tardy."

She sashayed off, her girls following her like a group of lost puppies.

I growled and opened my locker. Molly made me sick, and I wouldn't mind telling her right to her disgusting face.

Just as I was closing my locker the tardy bell rang. Groups of shady looking kids made their way to the bathroom so they could skip class.

I made my way to first period, which was math. It was boring, as always. I thought about playing my gameslave, but that, combined with my tardy, might get me detention, which I hoped to avoid.

So I was confined to the entertainment of my mind. I thought briefly about my dream, but more about what I was going to do to Molly.

Math passed, after math I had reading. Everything was boring as usual. I wondered about the dream. I had never met my grandma, so I had no idea what she could've done to evoke the wrath of aliens.

I was lost in thought, when suddenly, a searing pain sprung up in my left arm. I stifled a cry of pain as I raised my hand. I asked to go to the bathroom where I knew I could deal with this in private. When the teacher said yes I jumped out of my seat and ran towards the door. I urgently ran, clasping my arm, as if that would stop the pain.

When I got to the bathroom I pulled my sleeve up. There was a symbol stretched out across my left forearm. It reminded me of a bar code, a rectangle with three black symbols I didn't recognize. I decided to touch it. A sharp pain shot up my arm and I winced.

The symbols swirled, making what looked a little like letters. The deep black ink almost looked like blood in the dim light. I winced, getting an image of my mother lying on the floor, a pool of blood surrounding her head.

I placed my hands on the sink, clutching the edges as if I might fall. My body trembled as I looked at my reflection. I almost didn't recognize the quivering little girl, staring back at me. I stared into my amber eyes. It was beginning.

I stayed in the bathroom until lunch, trying to figure out what to do next. When the bell rang I slowly walked into the cafeteria, trying to hide so Dib wouldn't find me like he usually does. No such luck.

"Gaz!" Dib said, smiling at me.

He walked towards our table, expecting me to follow him. When he turned around I was already running in the other direction. I had to escape, I couldn't talk right now.

"Gaz, wait!" Dib said, chasing after me.

I ran outside into the courtyard and hid behind a bush, trying not to cry. The dream was real, it was entirely real.

Despite my wishes Dib found me. I pulled my legs to my chest and buried my face in my knees.

Dib sat next to me, for once in his life quiet.

"Gaz, please tell me what's wrong."

I shook my head. I wasn't opening up to Dib of all people; I should be beating him up.

"Go away Dib." I said, giving him my death glare.

He gave me a sad expression that might have been pity, which enraged me further.

"LEAVE ME ALONE DIB!" I shouted.

Everyone turned to look at us. I glared at them and they all turned away pretending they hadn't heard. I buried my head back into my knees. I heard Dib get up and walk away.

I was alone for a while, until I heard footsteps nearing me.

"Go away Dib." I mumbled.

Then I heard a girl's annoying laughter, followed by her clique's laughter.

"What do you want Molly?" I growled.

"Oh, just wanted to tell you how pretty you look." Molly said, as the girls behind her snickered.

"Really" I said in a sarcastic voice as I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, in fact, I think your necklace is awesome." Molly said.

Before I knew what was happening she had ripped off my necklace and handed it to her friend.

"No! Give it back!" I yelled.

"If you want it so bad, make me." Molly sneered as her friend threw it to the ground and stomped on it. I heard a crack and shuttered. They laughed and walked away, leaving me to my sorrow. My pendant lay broken on the ground, the white wood split into pieces.

I didn't cry. I sat there in disbelief. My only connection to my mother, gone.

My only protection, gone.

XxxxX

**Author's note:**

**Well, that was chapter one…. Possibly the most boring chapter in the entire story. I swear it gets better. So if you didn't get it in the description I, Invaderness, and Then Darkness Fell are writing this story together. We have a LOT of ideas and the story will get better. The ZaGr doesn't come in until later so if you're waiting for that, you have a while. Please R&R and there will be more chapters on the way.**


	2. The Wake Up Call

The Wake Up Call

Zim panted as he sprinted down the poorly paved concrete. He could feel his squeedilyspooch throbbing from all the running. He threw a glance back at the angry mob of filthy humans on his tail. They were like rabid dogs, their mouths foaming and their eyes filled with an evil rage. Zim cursed the fact that he could not reveal himself. If only he could bring his spider limbs out and show these rats what he was really made of. However Zim could not blow his cover in front of these humans, no matter how delirious they were.

Zim could see the street that lead to his base, but he didn't want to lead the mob to his house. As Zim turned a corner, he dove into an alley way. He heard the human's feet padding against the concrete. Zim pressed himself against the damp brick wall hoping they wouldn't think of looking in there.

"Hey, where did he go?" Zim heard a man yell, the man's voice cracking as he panted.

"WHAAAAT?!" A woman yelled back in a very annoying voice.

"I SAID, WHERE DID HE GO, the little green lad." The man yelled.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!"

"WHERE IS THE GUY WE WERE CHASING, THE GREEN ONE?!"

"WHAAAAT, I HAVEN'T SEEN ANY BEANS?!"

"I DON'T EVEN KNOW ANYMORE!" The man said, falling to his knees and sobbing.

"Let's go get some frozen yogurt!" Yelled a little girl in the crowd.

Zim sighed in relief as he heard them merrily skip off. He should've known the humans would be too stupid to follow him. Silly Zim… hehehe. He made his way down the cul-de-sac to his humble abode. Zim slowly opened his door, extremely exhausted from the events of the day. First Dib chased Zim, then they had a HORRIBLE pop quiz in school, and to top it off he had been chased by a mob of angry humans. He closed his eyes, sliding down the door into a sitting position.

"Who knew those humans were so defensive about their politics." He sighed.

Upon opening his eyes Zim was met with more chaos. As the TV blared on the loudest possible setting, Gir sat on the couch stuffing tacos in his mouth. Grease bathed Gir's body and Zim used everything he had in him not to puke.

The lady on the TV was smiling like a lunatic as she did aerobics.

"C'mon ladies PUSH THOSE HAM STRINGS! WORK THOSE THIGHS!"

Zim shuddered. "Gir, what FILTHY Earth program are you watching now?"

Gir looked at the TV, then Zim, shrugged, and went back to rolling in taco meat giggling like an idiot. Zim cautiously stepped over a ground beef covered Gir. He pushed his antennas back as an indication of his irritation.

"GIR! I'm going into the lab to finish my plan, so try not to… uh… destroy anything."

Gir continued to roll in the meat, paying no attention to Zim, yelling "IMA TACO WWWWWOOOO!"

"I've finally come up with the ultimate plan that will wipe all life off this filthy planet, and my robot slave is rolling in ….. Meat." Zim mumbled, shivering at the word meat.

In all his years with Gir, Zim had never believed Gir was truly "advanced". Perhaps Gir was broken? Surely the Tallest would never give him a defect on purpose.

Zim had indeed come up with a most INGENIOUS plan to get rid of the humans once and for all. Let's just say it involved an ice cream truck and **ADHESIVE MEDICAL STRIPS**. Zim climbed into his cylinder like trash can, the transport into his underground base. _I must come up with a more dignified way to enter my base._ He thought as he descended into the miles of rooms and tangled wires concealed beneath his "house".

"Level 45, my labs." Zim told the computer as the metal disk carried him down.

Zim saw his reflection in the glass tube surrounding him. He had recently been required to make renovations to his trashcan entrance. Zim was getting taller, and he couldn't understand why. Irkens had one height for life, and it determined their job, how they were treated, and basically their destiny. Not that growing taller displeased Zim. He suspected it had to do with Earth's gravity, or perhaps the growth hormones in the Earth food he had ingested to be perceived as normal.

It just wasn't possible. Irken's exo skeletons did not grow past the age of adulthood, which was around 20. Zim himself was a freak of nature. He was also a defect and a psychopath but that didn't count. Zim of course, didn't think of what his height might mean for anyone else, especially the Irkens that height mattered to the most.

It was just two years ago when Zim was in his freshman year of high school that he had realized he was taller than his nemesis's little sister. Not that he had been looking…._ Zim thought back to his 8__th__ grade year, at Skool. They had held a special event at school, it was called….. a dance? Yes…. That was what they had called it. They had a _dance _at the Skool, and of course Zim had been left without a partner. When Zim had realized this, he'd announced to the whole class that he had no means to go to such a preposterous event._

_Why did he, as they put it, have to learn how to gracefully move in sync with a female partner? The idea of going to a filthy Earth courting ritual disgusted him. Irkens had no means to court or take a partner. It was more like a hobby, and only low levels like service drones or defects could afford such a distracting relationship. Stupid, filthy, disgusting, and distracted humans. Oh how they confused Zim._

"_Zim!" _

_The old professor screeched across the classroom. _

_Professor Ramsy was a disgusting old human. His skin was dark and rough like worn leather, and his glasses made his eyes seem twice their size. Occasionally he would forget to put his dentures in and his hour long lectures were for nothing. When he realized his dentures were out, he'd pop them back in and repeat everything. Every kid at school was positive he'd crawled out of the looney bin and snuck into the school._

"_You have to go to the dance! And you must have a partner! It's your DESTINY." _

_No one really listened to the old man. He seemed to believe every, single, little thing that happened to you must happen, like it was your destiny to trip on that pencil some lazy kid left on the floor. More of his crazy talk. _

"_I WILL NOT GO! I WILL NOT OBEY YOU, YOU FILTHY STINK HUMAN, SUCH RITUALS MEAN NOTHING TO ZIM."_

"_I don't care Zim, its school rules. The head of the school board is coming and if too many kids look unhappy or alone they'll cut our funds even more…. For some reason ." _

_Everyone in the class groaned, and one kid's desk which was made out of tin cans and cardboard collapsed on itself. They all glared at Zim. _

_The professor lifted a shaky hand and pointed to dance poster with a smiling girl and boy hanging on the walls that seemed to drip with some unknown substance. _

"_YOU WILL ALL BOW AT THE FEET OF ZIM SOMEDAY SOON,"_

_Zim leaped onto the desk that looked like it was going to collapse any second. It shook under his weight but Zim didn't care._

''_YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO ORDER ME TO THIS PATHETIC DANCE!"_

"_You WILL come to that dance Zim. No questions asked."_

"_But,"_

"_NO ZIM. SIT DOWN."_

"_AND SHUT UP." Yelled some random kid in the back of the dark class room._

_Right as the bell rang, Zim's desk collapsed and he was trampled by a mob of eager middle schoolers._

_Zim had no other choice than to go to the dance, he couldn't risk blowing his cover by not blindly obeying like all the other children. He felt like his next plan was going to be the plan that put the humans down onto their knees, begging for mercy to their slave master, Zim._

_Mostly everyone had a partner by then, as the dance had been advertised for a while by now, so this job had just become harder. It was only two days until the HORRIBLE dance. _

_When the bell rang to let school out on Wednesday, Zim slowly walked down the steps, pondering on how he was to get a partner. Who was worthy of the privilege to dance with Zim? Probably no one, but he had to find a respectable partner. FOR THE SAKE OF THE MISSION. Someone at least slightly intelligent, and someone he could manipulate. _

_As Zim walked down the sidewalk, he heard a grunt of anger coming from directly behind him. Zim turned around to see Gaz, Dib's evil little sister. She was focused on her Gameslave, tapping on the large buttons at a million miles an hour. He wouldn't ever admit it, but _she_ brought sliver of fear upon Zim. _

_Suddenly, Zim had a thought. Does this Gaz Human have a partner? Who would want to be her partner? She's practically a demon is disguise. The chance of her not having a partner was very high, and Zim was desperate. This could also be a chance for him to annoy the Dib beast. Just imagine Dib's humongous head exploding in rage as his sister was seduced by the alien menace. Every second Zim thought about it, he felt it was a better plan._

"_Gaz human?"_

_Zim asked solemnly his squeedilyspooch dropping to his feet._

_She ignored him._

"_Gaz Beast?"_

_He said a little louder._

_Gaz slowly looked up from her Gameslave, her face twisted into an irritated look. Zim heard crashing and then "Game Over." Come from her gaming device._

"_What do you want stupid?"_

_She spoke in a voice with enough venom to kill a cobra, it sent a shiver up his back._

"_Um…"_

_He hadn't thought of how to word this yet. Probably should have thought of that._

"_Um… Do you… um… "_

"_Hurry up Zim, or I'm going to plunge you into a nightmare world in which there's no awakening. I lost my game for this." Gaz growled._

_He'd have to hurry up, if he wanted to keep Gaz's attention. How could he word this to where she wouldn't destroy him?_

"_Well, would you like to take the honor of going to the Skool dance with the Almighty Zim?"_

_He said it quickly, hoping that he'd said it right and hoping that his chances of surviving were good._

"_No."_

_Gaz then proceeded to playing her game, and ignoring his existence. _

"_But Gaz Human! Would you not want to annoy you big headed brother by going to the dance with Zim? Think of how mad he'd be! We both need partners, Plus this would be a good opportunity to watch the Dib stink go insane…"_

_Zim began to giggle evilly, forgetting he was asking a girl to a dance._

_Gaz looked up from her device discreetly, as Zim paid no attention to the fact that he'd captured her eyes and attention._

"_Annoying Dib? Now I'm listening. What else do you have to offer?"_

_Zim snapped his attention back to Gaz. What on earth could she want now? Having been asked to the dance by ZIM was a HUGE honor! Zim thought about what else a girl her age might want…._

"_ZIM will give you…..um…. a…a….. A PONY! YES, A PONY ZIM SHALL GIVE YOU!"_

_Gaz stared at Zim in astonishment. A PONY? Seriously? _

"_Wha-? No Zim,.." Gaz growled._

"_YOU SHALL HAVE ALL THE PONYS YOU HAVE EVER DREAMED OF."_

"_No Zim! I don't want a pony. " _

_Zim thought, this was crucial, whatever he said next could save him or condemn him. _

"_Well I simply wanted to save you from….. Going to the dance with that Willie beast. He IS the only other single male in school." _

_Gaz shivered at the thought of going to a public dance with Willie. _

"_Fine, but don't be stupid, stupid." _

"_So you don't want the pony?"_

_Zim and Gaz had gone to the dance, keeping it a secret from Dib. Dib found out about their arrangement mere seconds before Gaz opened the front door to the alien standing there, smug, with a bouquet of flowers. As Zim dragged Gaz down the sidewalk it was clear she was unhappy, but Dib being Dib was still outraged. He couldn't read his sister's emotions very well. _

_Gaz had worn a purple and black dress, reaching down to about her knees, and her skull pendant which she never took off, and Zim had taken the liberty of going out and buying a suit, with a reddish pink bow tie, signifying the Irken signature color. _

_Of course, there was conflict with Dib, but Gaz growled at him and told Dib to back off. Gaz was having a hard time seeming "happy" but Dib wasn't focused on her, just the green reptile that had hypnotized his sister._

_Gaz soon found out that ZIm wasn't actually that bad at dancing, actually he was so bad at first that he kept stepping on Gaz's feet, but once he downloaded a dance template in his PAK it was better. They had a great time messing with Dib as they danced, well more like stood in the corner and criticized everyone, and he couldn't do anything about it, because Dib himself was being dragged around by his own partner, Gretchen._

_Everything was going according to Zim's plan until the last dance…_

Zim shuddered, refusing to think about that. He looked around, forgetting where he was. Irkens sometimes literally have flashbacks. Because their PAKs store every piece of information and data they've observed and store it away, occasionally you could access a memory in ultimate detail.

Of course, Irkens can't remember everything all the time. The detailed memory data files can only be accessed at random times. This is the closest thing Irkens have to dreaming. Sometimes when they would power down to recharge, their memory data files would let down their fire walls and what humans would call a dream occurs. Because the Irkens ultimate mind is mostly offline, there is no order among these files and many can be mashed together creating an entirely new situation.

Sometimes occasionally, for a brief minute, with the small individuality programmed in an Irken has they can interact with their dreams. The fact that Zim was a defect he had more "individuality" that made this happen to him often. He could do what we humans call, spacing out. If he was in the right conditions, without going into sleep mode he could have "dreams" or "flashbacks". It was gift and a curse.

As Zim trudged farther into his base he thought about Irk. When he had first come to Earth he had experienced a defect emotion, which can only be described as longing. He "missed" Irk, its violence, and its snacks, and the height system. Zim hid it of course, because stupid emotions like that were only for defects. Overtime though, Zim grew accustomed to Earth, not that he liked it there.

He was just used to it. He still craved power though, and was certain any day now he would conquer earth. The fact that it had been 5 years since he came here didn't discourage him, it only made him more hopeful of his chances of succeeding. He still had a fight in him, and Zim would persevere.

Zim rambled on in his mind, absently working on a machine. He was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard four pings. He rushed to the transmission room. That could mean only one thing. A transmission from the Almighty Tallest.

XxxxX

"But Invader Necs! You're one of Irk's best champions! You have to compete!"

"No disrespect my Almighty Tallests but ARE YOU INSANE ILL DIE I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

With that the transmission cut. Red grumbled, and Purple stuffed more doughnuts into his face, chewing them nervously. Red was massively irritated.

"Cross of, pathetic, ehem, Invader Necs from the list." Red told a guard.

The guard checked off the last name of the long list that stretched all the way out the door.

Purple stuffed more doughnuts into his face "What are we gonna do?" He asked between chews.

"I don't know, but the games are almost upon us and we need a fourth player, one that will actually destroy the others, Irk can't lose again, we've got a bet going with the Azrak High Priest." Red said.

"Ooh! I love a bet, how many monies?" Purple asked.

"If all of theirs die first, we get 50,000 monies, if ours die first, they get 50,000, and if one teams wins, the other gives up 100,000 monies. That won't happen though IF WE CANT GET SOME LOSER TO GO THAT CAN ACTUALLY SURVIVE!" Red said, purely infuriated.

Purple was about to make a comment, a stupid one probably, when they heard 4 pings.

"Incoming transmission! From the High Galaric Council from the planet Galairia." Called one of the co-pilots.

Red cursed in Irken "Not now, we only have three players."

"B-but you can't turn down the transmission, it might be something important." Purple said.

"Okay fine, let it through." Red ordered.

For a few seconds the screen was dark, then two yellow eyes appeared, then a faint silhouette.

"The Galaric always did enjoy being mysterious" Red whispered to Purple.

"Greetings leaders of the mighty Irken race, Almighty Tallests Red and Purple. We call on the behalf of the upcoming Galairic Games. We trust you've found your four players."

"Ehem, well…. We don't exact-"Purple started before being interrupted.

"Well um actually, we need more time, we only have three players." Red said.

Someone behind the speaker scoffed "Lower races have people begging to be in the games and the Irkens, one of the mightiest races, are cowards. Just force some prisoner to do it."

The speaker shushed the other.

"The cut off for entries is tomorrow, so until then you have time to find someone else, now though we would like to have files on the contestants you have entered."

"Of course." Red said, waving at a guard to send the files.

On Irk, the only three criminals that were actually fit enough, smart enough, and passed all the health examinations and were deserving enough of such a cruel punishment. Only three. Two females, Char and Bex and one male, Syn. No one else was perfect enough and would actually let themselves be chosen.

"Thank you Tallests, we look forward to seeing your race participate in the games, if they make it."

With that the transmission ended. The Tallests stared at each other.

"Why don't we just force another prisoner to go?" Purple questioned, waving at the guard to get him more doughnuts.

"Because Purple, in light of the fact that the games are supposed to represent peace, even though they are the complete opposite, one of the four players has to volunteer." Red replied.

"Ooooh…. WERE DOOMED!" Purple panicked.

Suddenly Red had an idea.

He thought of Zim, who had, due to something on Earth, had been growing taller. If Zim kept growing at the rate he was now, his height would surpass the Tallest in approximately 2 years. That little defect could not be tallest. Luckily it seemed Zim was too stupid to realize this. They couldn't kill Zim themselves, his planet was too far off course. Zim did have a weakness though, his ego, and his undying want to please the Tallest and Irk. They could use that.

"Purple, who's stupid enough that we can fool them into the games, does have training in combat, destroys everything in their path, has an unnatural ability to survive every time we try to kill them, and would be hilarious to watch die?"

"I don't know, I'm not a genius!" Purple exclaimed.

Red sighed wishing his co ruler wasn't such an idiot.

"Send a transmission to earth." Red ordered.

"We have our fourth player."

**Author's Note: Invaderness signing on**

**Second chapter! Yep things are finally picking up! So, what are these games and what does Gaz have to do with it? More interesting things to come! R&R Please! Also third chapter may not be coming up for a week and a half because we're busy. Bai!**

**Invaderness signing off**

**Then Darkness Fell signing on**

**Hey guys! So this is my first story that I have posted to this account, and each time we sit down to write, I become more confident about this story. Please tell us if you have any questions, and we'd be glad to answer, unless they include spoilers. C'ya!**

**Then Darkness Fell signing off**


	3. Another One Bites the Dust

Another One Bites the Dust

Zim stood rigid in salute, his antennae perked and his back perfectly perpendicular to the floor. Zim couldn't remember a time when the Almighty Tallest had contacted him first. It was usually Zim who constantly updated the Tallest on his extremely important "mission". It was considered an honor for the Tallest to contact you. He remembered the Tallest came to Devastis to examine to newest recruits to the Irken Elite.

Every Irken lined up, posture perfect, heads held high, hoping that the Tallests' gaze might rest on them for more than a measly second. What a truly invigorating day that had been, to Zim, and all the other soldiers eager to please the Tallests. It was the first time after his work as a scientist on Vort that Zim had been allowed within five feet of the Tallests.

The circular orbs of the Tallests appeared on the screen, accompanied by the scrawny armored bodies that they belonged to. Red had always been known as the true Almighty Tallest. He wasn't as smart as Myuki, or as tactical as Spork, who had both been swallowed up by the consequences of Zim's idiocy. He was definitely better than Purple though. It was thought that Purple was only kept around because he was Red's best companion.

Irkens don't really have friends though, only allies. Technically in Irken tradition, if two Irkens are both the Tallest, one can challenge to other to a fight and whoever kills the other is the Tallest. Even though it was clear Red wasn't a defect, the only plausible reason for him tolerating a nuisance like Purple was some form of sentimental value.

"Invader Zim, reporting for duty my Almighty Tallests."

"Ah yes Zim, our favorite idio- I mean soldier, we have a very deadl- I mean…. Interesting offer for you." Red began, hoping that Zim could be fooled into a suicide mission twice.

"Yeah Zim, you're gonna love this!" Purple exclaimed in the background, throwing his hands up and hitting the servant that had brought him donuts.

The servant fell to the floor with an oof then yelled "I'm okay!"

"Please tell Zim so that I might please you my Almighty Tallests." Zim replied eagerly. He was willing to do just about anything to win the Tallests' favor.

"Well, as you know, every 20 years the United Civilizations of Galactic Conquest, also known as the UCGC, host the Galairic Games in which the 10 races, plus the wild card planet send in 4 members of their race to fight to the death." Red explained as Purple winced at the "fighting to the death part."

"Yes, please continue my Tallest." Zim said.

"As you know, this is a very honorable position, one that has to be chosen carefully. Only the strongest, smartest, and most superior examples of the Irken race can be selected." Red said, making sure to smother the description with good things. It was like offering a horrible job to someone, you had to use finesse.

"No disrespect to you or the Galairic games, but Zim always understood that the Galairic Games were a death sentence."

"Oh no, they're extremely easy to win. Anyways, we gave it a lot of thought, and the only Irken worthy of fighting for Irk AND making their Almighty Tallest proud would be you Zim." Red said, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, plus it'll be fun to watch you be slaughtered." Purple muttered off-handedly.

"SHHHH." Red rasped, elbowing his co-tallest.

"I would be honored to represent Irk in the games, no one but Zim is worthy of such a job, but what about my mission?" Zim asked, genuinely concerned about his absence.

"Don't worry Zim, the longest the games have ever lasted was two weeks, you'll be teleported to Galairia on Monday and the games start on Saturday, so the longest you'll be gone is three weeks." Red replied.

"I have a teleport?" Zim questioned.

Red sighed "Yes Zim, every Irken base is equipped with a long range teleport, honestly, what kind of Invader doesn't know his own base?

"Oh yes, I was just… testing you! That was all my Tallests!" Zim said nervously.

"So will you play in the games or not?" Purple asked.

"Of course, for the Irken Empire!" Zim shouted as he saluted.

"Great, we'll send you a transmission before we establish your teleport with coordinates!" Red said, smiling a little too much.

"Yes my Tallests, but what if-"

"No time for that, BYE ZIM!" Red said as he giddily cut the transmission, finally rid of Zim, both a nuisance AND a threat to his position.

Zim sighed, his rigid body relaxing. He would win these games, for Irk, there was no way he couldn't. After that he would become a hero and bring the Armada to Earth to destroy it. He could taste his victory already.

"Computer, start preparing to go into lock down mode alpha on Monday. No filthy pig beast is getting into Zim's base while I'm gone."

As Zim stepped into the elevator and climbed the see-through cylinder shaft he stared into his bare pink orbs. Could he do this? Of course he could, he was the Almighty Zim! What if he didn't? What if he never came back? That was nonsense. Doubt is a weakness, Zim told himself. Weakness is the enemy. The enemy must be eliminated.

When Zim reached the ground level his thoughts were still on eliminating weakness. That was the only way to survive the games, as he had learned from watching the games when he was a smeet. Zim could vividly remember the strangled cries for help as an Irken girl fought against a fully grown male Azrakian, who tend to be muscular and brutal.

He could remember her losing all sense of honor and respect for the Irken race as she realized this was where her life ended. That was what weakness was, an infection, a disease that strikes it's hardest when the end is near. Only the strong can survive its blow. Zim promised himself he would be strong, and even if the end came, he would not succumb.

After that series of dark and depressing thoughts Zim felt he was in need of some cheering up. He settled on the couch with his favorite Irken snack, wary of a snoring GIR who was snuggling with a pile of ground beef.

"I didn't even know SIRs had a snoring function." Zim said, perplexed yet again by his "advanced" robot.

Zim presumed he would have to shut GIR down during his absence, which made Zim a little uncomfortable. The thought of GIR's bright blue eyes turning into a dull lifeless gray as his body was left to collect dust felt wrong. Not that Zim liked GIR, he would never admit to that, he just thought that no creature should have the ability to switch a sentient creature off.

"Computer" Zim whispered, hoping not to wake up GIR.

"Yes" The computer replied as it started viciously coughing.

So you have a coughing function, but no whispering function, Zim thought as GIR stirred slightly whispering "tacos".

"If you don't hear anything from me, or I don't return in a month, reactivate GIR, but not the rest of the things shut down by lock down alpha. If you don't hear from me in two months, or someone gets into the base, go into self- destruct mode."

"Yes Master."

"What no witty remark or whining?" Zim asked.

The computer did not reply, simply because its databases found no words to describe the pity it felt for the cold Irken.

Zim stared at GIR as he snored, loosing himself in thought.

XxxxX

I slammed the stall door shut and felt the stall's walls vibrate. The space was small, but I was too upset to care. I didn't care about going to class or getting detention, I would just skip it anyways. I pulled up my sleeve, staring in hatred at the ugly black marks. Why here? Why now? As if my life wasn't already torture.

I didn't even know what I was being forced into! I sat on the toilet, pulling my knees to my chest and burying my head into my arms. I stayed like this for a while, the feelings of anger and fear coursing through me. Was this even real? Maybe I was dreaming.

My head throbbed and I decided to shut out the world, thinking about what to do. Maybe I could shut myself it dad's lab. I shivered as I remembered the aliens breaking down a three feet thick steel door. If that wasn't safe, nowhere was. I continued to lament my predicament until I heard voices, to be precise, snobby one.

"Oh my gosh! It REALLY hurts guys! I have no idea what it is!" I heard Molly whine.

"Lift up your sleeve!" Called one of the groupies.

I heard swishing and then gasps.

"I didn't know you had a tattoo Molly!"

"Is that a new trend?!"

"I want one!"

Her followers started to exclaim.

"No you idiots, why would I get a tattoo, that's L-A-M-E lame! I swear I did NOT have this before just now!" Molly sneered

"Hey hehe maybe it's ummm an allergic reaction to Gaz!" One girl piped up. They all giggled in their annoying shrill voices.

"Maybe you caught her ugliness." Another girl snickered.

I growled. They sure seemed to talk a lot about me.

Molly laughed but I could hear nervousness in her voice. "That must be it, maybe that tacky skull charm of hers let off some curse. Oh well, it will probably go away, now, let's get to class!"

I heard their high heels clicking as they walked out. I smirked. I guess these aliens don't have much diversity when it comes to where their specimens come from. If Molly was in chosen too, this was getting interesting. If I was toast then Molly was burnt. She wouldn't last one nano second in whatever slaughter machine they were feeding us to, whoever they were. Plus, in my personal opinion, red was a great color on Molly.

I waited until the bell rang. Violent thoughts of Molly's destruction bouncing around in my mind. Sometimes I would stop to wonder if there was something wrong with me. Normal girls probably don't fantasize about their enemies being destroyed in horrific ways, but since when had I been normal?

I rolled down my sleeves and tried to look like the normal idle, sarcastic, and non-caring Gaz. I took out my Gameslave and started to play, though I wasn't really into it. I was on autopilot, my hands moving without thought as I focused on other things. I learned to do this when I was small. When you look busy, less people will bother you, simple science.

Of course, that only applied to normal people, so my brother Dib didn't exactly grasp that concept. As I walked down the sidewalk I heard the familiar rushed footsteps of my annoying brother. I desperately hoped he wasn't going to bring up what happened at lunch.

"What was that all about at lunch?" Dib asked.

No such luck.

I growled "Nothing Dib, leave me alone."

"You can't just shut me out you 'know!" Dib persisted.

"I don't know, it's worked so far." I muttered

"Gaz, I'm your brother! You can tell me anything! What's wrong? I saw that stupid popular girl come by shortly after I left…"

"Dib, stop before you say something that gets you killed" I stated in an angered tone.

"Please Gaz! Tell me, this is the first time I have seen you this flustered since mom died. Let me help you."

"Dib, I don't need-"

"Gaz, there's something wrong, like really wrong. I can feel it. Are you angry with someone? Did they hurt you? Are you in pain? Please tell me you didn't get into another fight…"

"Please, I'm always angry with someone, and I always get in fights."

"C'mon Gaz, we can talk tonight at my bigfeets stake out in the park!"

"DIB. I don't need your help! Nor have I ever needed it! Everything you ever say to me is worthless! I have no idea why you waste your breath trying! I don't care! Now I suggest you start running before I hurt that annoyingly huge head of yours!"

I stepped a foot closer to him, holding up a fist.

Dib stepped back a little. He stared at me for a second, with a look of shock.

"Sheesh Gaz, fine. Now I understand why no one will help you." Dib turned and stalked off, leaving me alone on the side walk.

I stood there for a while, maybe 1 or 2 minutes, just staring in the direction he went. Of course he had long since turned the corner, and it wasn't like I could see him, but I felt no triumph, because I hadn't actually helped myself. Since when had yelling at Dib helped me? All it was is me letting out anger. I hated to admit it, but all I had left was fear and confusion.

I couldn't quite explain it, but sometimes I would wonder why Dib even cared enough to give me a confused glance when I acted different. I mean, I'd practically punch him about 50 times a week! Who would care about a bully? In a way, I was scared that one day he'd stop caring, and I would have no one.

I shook my head and trudged down the street. I didn't bother to get out my Gameslave, I was most certainly not in the mood to play any games, and I knew I couldn't go back to the house, Dib would be there, and I couldn't bear to see him right now. I needed to cool off, some time to collect myself

So I decided to go to Bloaty's. It probably doesn't sound like an ideal choice, considering it's full of screaming children, disgusting facilities, and horrible service. Right now it was only option though. I smiled, thinking of trying the new Super Ultra Cheese Deluxe, then going to the CD store. Not to buy CDs, who uses those anymore? Just to listen to the soothing music and possibly steal some CDs.

It was around 5:00 PM when I entered Bloaty's. I was welcomed by the scent of grease and total loss and despair. I ordered my pizza and sat down at a booth. I sat for a moment, basking in the familiarity of the scene. Then I heard a very distinct recognizable voice.

"I want this one, no I want this one, noooo this one!"

The acne covered teen let out a groan as the little green dog stood on his tippy toes to see the menu. Zim stood behind GIR, his arms crossed with an irritated expression on his face.

After a long while of GIR changing his mind Zim sighed. "We will have the regular cheese pizza, now be gone filth beast!"

Zim whirled around, his eyes closed in confidence that people would move out of his way. Instead of that, he crashed into a waiter carrying a tray of pizza and soda. Zim lay in a heap on the floor, a piece of grease bathed pizza sliding down his face and GIR licking the soda.

I couldn't help but laugh at then alien's predicament, although no one else joined in. Zim glared and stood up, adjusting his wig then stomping in my direction. I tried to stifle my laughter, but it was no use.

"What is so funny Gaz human?" Zim sneered.

"Oh nothing, just you falling on your butt, in public, some elite alien invader you are." I snickered.

"That filthy stink beast caught me by surprise. Zim is truly superior to humans in every way." Zim said as if that was the best explanation he could think of.

"Yeah sure…. So since when do you go to Bloaty's? I thought you hated earth food or it like burned you or whatever." I asked.

"Well… GIR is going to be shut down for a while so I figured I would let him do something special. This was his choice." Zim shuttered on the word "this" gesturing to the restaurant.

I stared at GIR in the ball pit, sucking the plastic pink-eye infected multi colored spheres into his mouth and shooting them out like a machine gun.

"Why are you shutting him down, not that his annoyingness isn't enough reason?" I asked.

Usually I wouldn't be so verbal without someone, especially Zim of all people, but I needed something to take my mind off my tattoo.

"I'm going on a trip for a while." Zim replied.

Just like me sooner or later, I thought. I decided not to persist. Imagine Dib's face when he realizes Zim is gone. Priceless.

"Dib sister, I do have one request." Zim said nervously.

"Okay." I said raising my eyebrow.

"Make sure Dib stink does not… break while I'm gone, I still wish to have a worthy adversary when I return." Zim says, whispering the words.

I can tell why he's nervous to say them. I've known for a long time that Dib and Zim's rivalry has become more and more like a contest, which in a way, sorta makes them less like enemies.

"Okay sure, he won't get "broken" unless I break him first."

Zim nods and walks away, not even giving our conversation a proper end. All of a sudden I am not feeling like I want pizza or to go to the CD store. I stand up and walk briskly past my waiter, who says something about paying but I don't pay attention.

All I can think about are Zim's choice of words. He doesn't want Dib to break, whatever that means in his strange alien language. It feels like a word to describe me, broken. I don't function properly or have all my parts put together yet.

In all simplicity that's what we all are. I stare back at Bloaty's, the people laughing and gorging themselves. It makes me realize something. I am not whole. There's a hole in me and I keep trying to fill it with things that don't fit like pizza or video games. I try to fill it, but it never quite gets there.

I wonder the streets until I make my way home and drift upstairs. I'm in a daze, everything is fuzzy. I can make out light coming from Dib's room. He's probably up late deciphering codes or whatever. I'm too tired to think. I float onto my bed and nestle into the soft purple sheets.

I am not whole, and I haven't been for a long long time.

XxxxX

A voice hisses from the dim lighting.

"Magera you fool, you've activated the sleep drugs too early. We bring the earthlings to the ship two days from now, the earthly calendar day of Monday!"

"Sorry Lorak, I guess I dozed off and hit the button that deploys the drug."

"Well, lucky for you Magera there's still some smoke left for her, but it won't knock her out quite as well as this did since you used most of it."

"Whatever, I hate this job."

"Me too"

**Author's Note: PLEASE READ**

**Invaderness signing on**

**So now that you know that is gonna be sorta like the hunger games, I hope you don't immediately dismiss it as cliché. We've put a lot of effort into this and I swear it's going to be different than the usual, although some things are the same. Thank you to those who have followed this story. Also major portal reference, did you catch that? Also major references to the unfinished Invader Zim episode "The Trial". Look it up on youtube if you've never seen the read through. Thanks again, review, follow, and favorite please! Bai :3 **

**Invaderness signing off**

**Then Darkness Fell signing on**

**Hello readers! I'm glad you have stayed with us to chapter 3! As a consolation prize for making it this far, you get ADHESIVE MEDICAL STRIPS (that are invisible due to funding issues with the skool board). Anyways, so Invaderness and I are going on a trip today for the Fourth of July weekend to visit my family, and we hope to have time to write a few chapters. Because as soon as we return from the trip, she is going on another trip for a week, therefore we may or may not have time to supply you with glorious chapters. We are planning to write a few over the weekend, and Ill post them while she's gone next week. So it's possible that you'll get a few new chapters soon! So be watching! Lastly, I'd like to thank all the viewers who faved, followed and reviewed! It has made us even more determined to release new chapters. Thanks again!**

**Then Darkness Fell signing off**


	4. Alien Cravings

Alien Cravings

I wake up to the soft light of the mid-morning sun streaming through my curtains. My eyes feel heavy, and so does my body. What had made me so tired? I can briefly remember climbing the stairs and fumbling with my door handle. The last time I collapsed like that was after a fight with my dad.

I stretch my arms out and push myself into a sitting position while I wipe the sleep from my eyes. I faintly remember the falling out with my brother. I remember going to Bloaty's and encountering Zim there. He told me something, and then I left. I remember feeling the way I did when they put me to sleep for my mouth surgery, like I was losing grip on reality against my will.

I lean against the headboard of my bed. I pull my long sleeved shirt over my head. I was too tired to take it off the night before. I let my eyes graze my bare arm, which hardly looks normal anymore. The tattoo seemed to have gotten less distinct, the once sharp shapes a little bit fuzzier. I shook my head, I was either going insane or the tattoo was changing, or maybe it got wiped off somehow.

I thought about yesterday, and what happened at school. I wince, remembering the searing pain in my arm. Then I remember Molly complaining about the tattoo on her arm. I smirk, thinking of how distressed she sounded. I could imagine her being sorry for everything she ever did to me, begging for leniency. If it came to it, I would crush her myself. I still didn't know what I was marked for, but I knew my chances of survival might be slim so her's must be tiny.

I stare again at my now messed up tattoo. Maybe it's not real, maybe it's marker that someone is pranking me with. It's a desperate thought, but my time is running out and I am getting frantic. I stand up and walk to the bathroom connected to my room.

I examine my arm in the mirror. The markings seem to take up my entire forearm. It's the first time I've had a proper look at them. They almost look like the characters I saw in Zim's base once. One things for sure, they aren't any human language.

I begin to scrub furiously at my arm, hoping whatever marker it might be would rub off. My skin begins to turn red and the marks still haven't smeared. I lather on soap and scrub harder. After what seems like forever I stop and wash my arm. Nothing has changed, except for the fact that my arm is throbbing.

I let out a scream of frustration and throw the bottle of soap at my mirror and it bounces off. As I walk out of the bathroom I kick the discarded soap dispenser. _Why me?_ Is all I can think. My life was supposed to be easy. Rich dad, stupid brother, school, almost everything except an alien from the stars.

I think. Would Zim have anything to do with this? If not, he might know at least something about these strange happenings. Maybe I should ask him…. But if my brother knew he would forbid me and throw a fit. I'm almost sure though that Dib told me he was going to a meeting for his stupid secret society today. So I decide that later I'll go ask Zim. As much as I hate asking that stupid space boy for help, I need to stop moping and start understanding what's happening to me and Zim is the only one who might know.

My stomach rumbles and I decide to go downstairs. I slip on a black sweatshirt advertising my favorite band just in case Dib is home. I think about having some cereal, but then my mind wavers to the left over pizza in the fridge. I take out the pizza and put it in the microwave.

I take a bite of the previously heated pizza and then spit it out. Usually leftovers are okay but this tastes horrible. We haven't had it long, it was Thursday when we ordered Pizza. I check to see if the slice is moldy, but it seems perfectly fine. I toss it in the trash and take out cereal. I want the cereal dry, no milk. I think for a moment then change my mind, I definitely want the cereal with milk. I open the fridge, unfortunately there isn't enough milk. That's okay though, because I don't want milk or cereal. Now I want an apple.

I pick a nice ripe apple out of the fruit bowl and dig my teeth into it. I gag on the apple, spitting it onto the floor.

"Yuck! Why does that taste like crap?" I hiss.

Speaking of crap, I open the fridge again, my hunger becoming more urgent, to see a can of poop cola. My brother knows to leave a can for me, he doesn't want a repeat of last week's incident. I take a long gulp of soda. I have to struggle to keep it in my mouth before spitting it out into the sink. The little bit that I swallowed leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

"Has that always tasted like backwash?" I mutter.

I growl, if Dib had figured out how to backwash it all then reseal the can to prank me he was going to pay dearly. I need something to get rid of this horrible taste lingering in my mouth. I open up the freezer surveying what we have.

Frozen burritos, ice cream, and frozen peas are the only thing I see. I quickly take out the ice cream, not bothering to close the freezer. I don't bother with a bowl, I simply scoop the ice cream out of its container and into my mouth. It tastes like curdled milk. I launch the tub of ice cream at the trashcan.

"I swear, if this is another one of Dib's curses like the pork thing, I'll strangle him. I will rip out his eyes so he can see me tear out hi-" I stop mid-sentence as something catches my eye. Sitting like an angel from above on the counter is my salvation.

I approach it slowly, wondering if it's a mirage. This is too good to be true.

I bend down and examine it.

"Glurcknock." I whisper, staring at the pear.

I'm too entranced to wonder about the gibberish that just escaped my lips. I bite into the pear. Delicious. The funny thing is, I don't even like pears.

I decide to settle on the couch with the pear and take it easy. Later I'll go to Zim's house and ask him about what's going on. If he doesn't give me information voluntarily I'll force it out of him. It gives me comfort knowing what's going to happen today.

I turn on the TV and see that it's paused in the middle of a recording of mysterious mysteries. I growl, thinking of how annoying Dib was yesterday. I exit the recording. A box comes up saying "Would you like to save or delete this recording?" I delete the new recording, which Dib obviously didn't finish. That should teach him to never annoy me.

I watch a TV show about hobos designing dresses for models. Least to say it's fun watching the models reaction to the designs. I finish my pear and I'm still hungry, but we don't have any more pears and I don't feel like trying anything else to see if it makes me puke.

I watch a few episodes of America's Got Obesity then get up to go to the bathroom. By now it's around 2:00 PM. In the middle of a step I freeze. My lungs feel like they are on fire. I double over in pain, grasping the wall in a desperate attempt to support myself.

I lose my balance and fall onto the floor. My lungs feel like they're exploding. I can't breathe, but only shallow raspy breaths that don't do me much good. I glance over at the nearby phone and lift a shaky hand. I'm too weak to reach it. Come on Gaz, you do NOT die here. I let out a sob of pain as a sharp painful sensation ripples through my chest.

I can hear my heart beat in my ears. It's slowing down. I close my eyes and that is the only thing I can hear.

"Please, if there's a God up there, let me live…" I manage to mutter as I slipped off into what was most inevitably death.

XxxxX

"Ha look at this one, he's freaking out." Lorak laughed pointing at the screen.

"That's not funny!" Magera cried.

"You're just saying that because you have to watch that sniveling female's reaction." Lorak said.

"Subject Molly Hoover is proving rather pathetic, but the Membrane went out rather quickly without too much complaint."

"Just like her grandmother." Lorak said, shaking his head.

XxxxX

I wake to the sound of keys being inserted into our front doors lock. I bolt up, my chest soar, but not nearly as bad as before. Lately I've been passing out too much. Just as I'm standing up Dib enters through the door looking extremely tired. His hair is ruffled and he has scratches all over.

"Get kicked out again?" I smirk.

"It's forcefully escorted away from the premises, and yes." Dib explains in a cranky voice. I watched him trek up the stairs and slam his door. My brother upset, music to my ears. I look outside. It's dark so I must've slept an easy 7 hours. I check the clock which reads 9:44 PM. After sleeping for that long I'm still tired.

I walk up stairs and into my room. I decided that I'm not quite ready to go to sleep. I prop my back against the headboard of my bed and pull my laptop onto my lap. I search up "Random appearing tattoo then lung problems" It takes a minute to load and I assume there must be a lot of entries.

There are reports of people getting rashes or acne then lung problems, but nothing matching what has happened to me. I feel disappointed it was a long shot, but I was hoping I may be able to figure out if anybody else had experienced this. I sighed. I needed to forget about this, to forget about what was going on for a while.

I opened up Vampire Piggy Hunter online. It was time to slaughter some noobs. I turned off the lights and played on the website. It took my mind off of the markings and my alien encounters. Finally I shut down my laptop and let my eyes close. I felt myself drifting off, in fact I felt a dream starting. I could see it, and it all started on a starry night with a women doing dishes.

_Harley Membrane is staring out at the stars as she scrubs one of the last dishes. 5 year old Gaz runs downstairs, her eyes filled with fear. _

_ "Mommy I'm scared, I'm having nightmares." Little Gaz cries. _

_ Harley keeps washing the dishes, apparently not noticing her daughter. _

_ "Mommy can I stay down here with you? I'm really scared." Gaz Says with pleading eyes. _

_ Harley freezes and Gaz can hear her raspy breathing. Harely slowly turns around and Gaz realizes this is not her mother. Harley's eyes are black pits, and her loving smile is twisted into a sadistic one decorated with razor blade teeth. Harely reaches out one hand, spindly claws reaching for her daughter. _

_ Gaz whimpers, backing away from the creature. _

_ "Mommy?" Gaz whispers. _

_ "Only One." The creature rasps as Gaz screams. _

I wake up sweating in the thick sweatshirt I hadn't bothered to change out of last night. I take a few fast breaths. They somehow feel weird, as if something had changed. It probably has to do something with my lung incident yesterday. I know I should probably tell someone, but all I can think about was the last time I was diagnosed with an unknown sickness. My own dad experimented on me and I got the name "Pig Girl".

That was Dib's fault. Besides, I feel better now. My chest doesn't even ache anymore. I stretch my arms. Somehow, besides the fact that my life seems to be spiraling downwards, I feel invigorated, like I could run a mile just like that.

I make up my mind that I'm going to go ask Zim today since I was interrupted yesterday. It's been two days since I knew this was starting and nothing has happened. Maybe stupid Zim will know why my life is taking so long to end.

I keep on my sweatshirt but switch out my leggings for a pair of black skinny jeans. I slip on my combat boots and trudge downstairs to where my brother is lounging on the couch reading a magazine with the TV on. I walk past him, hoping I can get at least 5 minutes without him bugging me.

"Hey Gaz, did you delete my Mysterious Mysteries recording?" Dib asks in his obnoxious voice.

I don't reply, hoping he'll take that as a no.

"You did didn't you!" Dib accused.

"So?" I asked picking up my IPod from the countertop.

I check the time, its 10:30 AM.

"I was going to watch that! Gaz you need to learn that other peop-"

"Would you just shut up?! I don't care! SHUT UP!" I yell. I'm not quite sure where it came from.

It's not like I have the right to yell at him, he has no idea what I'm going through.

"No I won't Gaz! You're always acting like you're the only one that matters. HEY! Don't walk away from me, where are you going?!" Dib yells after me as I walk towards the door.

"Out!" I snarl before slamming the door.

I trudge down the side walk, shoving the earbuds of my IPod into my ear. I know I should be nicer to him, but I can't help myself. I know very well that this could be the last time I see Dib. I feel bad, but it's 100% against my being to go back and apologize. I just can't.

As I walk to Zim's house, which I've memorized the location of after Dib dragging me there, I think about school tomorrow. I really don't want to go. Maybe I'll ditch, I think. Then I think about Molly and all the ways I can torment her with the fact that I know more about the markings than she does. Suddenly school seems a lot more interesting.

I wonder if Molly's experiencing the same sort of things as me; blacking out, strange cravings, burning lungs. I kick a pebble laying on the sidewalk, how funny it would be to watch her react to such strange happenings. Maybe she'll say something about it to her annoying friends at Skool tomorrow, I might have to stay close to her to hear if she says anything about the mark. I never would have thought I'd actually think it would be a good idea to stay around Molly Hoover.

I shiver, and brush off the thought, deciding that soon enough I'd find out what was happening to us, and continue walking down the deserted sidewalk to Zim's base.

I look down the street and see the fluorescent green house standing tall among the bland buildings surrounding it. Did Zim even notice that the other houses on his block don't look like a light bulb, but they look like some carpenter got bored with his job, and decided not to try to make the house look appealing? Sometimes I wonder how Zim even became an Invader, I mean, I'd assume that real Invaders would try harder than that. They_ are_ an elite race of so called "superior" aliens.

The base seems to become larger as I get closer to it, and I think of exactly what I am going to say to Zim. All of this time, I haven't even thought of how I should announce to him that I have alien markings on my arm, I believe that something's wrong by the way I'm acting, so will you help me? Now my trek over here seems even more risky and stupid.

Within a minute the base stands in front of me, the yard filled with lawn gnomes, puffer fish on sticks, and an "I love Earth!" sign. As I walk up the side walk, I can feel the gnomes eyes following me to the door, and a drip of sweat rolled down my back. Since when am I so nervous about Zim. Maybe it's just the fact that I may not like the answer to my question.

_Ok_, I tell myself, _just tell him that you believe something alien has happened to you. The worst thing that could happen is he'll laugh at you, and decline your request for help. Not too bad right? Well… he could tell me something worse… I think._

I raise my fist and knock on the door with the men's room sign hanging from it. Nothing. I wait for a minute, still nothing. Since when did no one open the door? Surely Gir would open it, and at least tell me Zim wasn't home, or occasionally the computer. Or Zim's freaky robot parent things. _Well that's strange_, I thought. I tap my knuckles against the door again, this time harder.

Silence is the response from the nosily colored home.

"ZIM!" I yell at the door, knowing the computer or someone can hear me.

"Get out here, RIGHT NOW!" not even a scuffle comes from the base.

Something must be really wrong for there to be no one, or no_thing t_o answer the door or make some sort of noise from inside. Zim was probably home, not much to do on a rainy Sunday like this. I also heard Zim muttering something in science about his PAK being broken. Maybe he was fixing it.

Eventually, I give up and start walking home. Maybe I can talk to him at Skool tomorrow, but until then, I have to try to figure out as much information I can find on what was happening to me, and while I did that, I was going to have a Glurknock, my new word for pear.

XxxxX

Zim slid into his chair in his lab, almost falling onto the floor as his numbing body hit the surface of it. He had to use all the effort he could muster to hold himself up right, or he'd end up sprawled all over the tile. He hadn't expected that the solution that the Galairic had inserted into him would be so violent.

He forced his eyes to stay open as he stared around the empty base. He'd shut down Gir an hour before the drug was put into place, about 2 and a half hours ago. He didn't understand why the drug he had was so harsh, he knew that this drug had to physically morph his squeedilyspooch, but the fact that it hurt so much made him wonder if the Galairic made it hurt on purpose.

If only his breathing adapter hadn't been damaged when Zim was running away from those angry politically obsessed humans. The breathing adapter was an attachment inserted into an Irken elite's PAK allowing the Irken to breathe another atmosphere without a helmet.

Because the PAK is essentially an Irken's brain, the breathing adapter tells the antennae to let certain elements through or none at all in some cases. Then the air goes to the squeedilyspooch to be filtered. It only works on certain planets, including Galairia. Because his adjuster was broken they had targeted the drug at Zim.

Usually it would be administered when Zim was teleported to Galatia, before being teleported to their moon, but apparently they were stationed at Earth so they just decided to give it to Zim now.

Zim would've laughed at the fact that Earth was the wild card planet, which was the joke of the games, but he was in too much pain. His sqeedilyspooch was throbbing, his PAK was sparking, and he was getting a ringing in his antennae's. Or was that the doorbell?

"Zim, there's someone at the door." The computer informed.

"GAH, HAVE THE ROBO PARENTS GET IT!" Zim said hugging his squeedilyspooch.

"You shut them down." The computer replied.

Zim remembered the long struggle to turn the robo parents off as they threw medical equipment at him. He would NOT miss them.

"Well then let it go, if it's the Dib monster he'll just have to wait."

"But it's not Di-"

"GAAAAAAAH IT HURTS!" Zim howled, interrupting the computer.

The computer decided to switch off its recorders and play an online game. Anything was better than Zim's screeching.

XxxxX

Red lounged on a couch speaking to someone on a communicator. Purple walked in with a bag of chips and plopped down next to Red. They casually sat there for a moment.

"Who's on the communicator?" Purple asked.

"Galairic High Council." Red stated.

"What do they want?" Purple asked as he munched on a chip.

"Apparently the wild card planet this year is the one Zim is exiled to. They did an X-ray of their players and Zim and found that his breathing adapter was broken. They're asking permission to administer the breathing drug to Zim." Red explained.

"Isn't that the excruciatingly painful one?" Purple asked casually.

"Yeah…." Red said, quickly answering into the communicator.

"Yes, and feel free to hit Zim with as much as you want." Red told them, a smile spreading across his face.

**AUTHORS NOTE: THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD**

**INVADERNESS SIGNING ON**

**HEY GUYS! BEST CHAPTER YET RIGHT? OK SO GAZ MIGHT HAVE BEEN A LITTLE OOC IN THIS CHAPTER BECAUSE OF THE DRUG SO WE APOLOGIZE FOR THAT. ALSO WE'VE KEPT SWITCHING GAZ'S FIRST PERSON ACCOUNT FROM PAST TENSE TO PRESENT BUT WE'VE FINALLY DECIDED ON PRESENT SO NO MORE CONFUSION THERE. THINGS ARE FINALLY HEATING UP! THANKS FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT! **

**INVADERNESS SIGNING OFF**

**THEN DARKNESS FELL SIGNING ON**

**HELLO READERS! SO WE WROTE THIS CHAPTER ON THE 4****TH**** OF JULY, AND WERE NOT ABLE TO PUBLISH UNTIL THE FOLLOWING WEEK WHILE INVADERNESS IS ON VACATION, AGAIN, SO ID JUST LIKE TO SAY, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! ANYWAYS, SO EVERY CHAPTER, SOMETHING NEW AND EXCITING IS REVEALED TO HELP THE STORY MOVE CLOSER TO THE GAMES, (WHICH BY THE WAY IS COMING SOON!) AND OF COURSE, BEING THE PEOPLE WE ARE, WE PUT LITTLE REFERENCES FROM TV SHOWS, AND VIDEO GAMES, IN THIS CHAPTER, WE PUT IN ONE FROM A TV SHOW. YEP, SO WERE BOTH EXCITED TO BE WRITING ABOUT THE GAMES IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF CHAPTERS, SO KEEP LOOKING FOR UPDATES! AND FINALLY, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO, REVIEWED, FOLLOWED, AND FAVORITED THIS GROWING STORY! CYA!**

**THEN DARKNESS FELL SIGNING OFF**

**;**


	5. Beam Me Up Scotty

Beam Me Up Scotty

I reluctantly stare at the phone book laying open on the kitchen table, pondering whether or not I should actually enact what I am thinking about doing.

I had walked home from Zim's house about 2 hours ago, my mission to talk to him ending up being unsuccessful. While I walked home I thought about ways to get more information about what was happening. I had come up with the "brilliant" idea that I should call Molly Hoover and somehow get some information out of her. What fun this will be.

Upon arriving home I saw that my dad was in the kitchen, which usually would've cheered me up, but at the moment I wasn't in the mood for the annual "Daughter, I trust you are doing well?" and "Yeah dad".

I sat in a chair and told myself there was only one thing to do, one thing I could do, before looking for Zim tomorrow. That was calling Molly Hoover and asking her about it. I knew I'd probably have to pretend to be someone else because there's no way Molly would ever talk to me in an actual conversation.

I am becoming tired of sitting in this chair, and I'm starting to get hungry.

Sitting in a chair staring at a phonebook open to the number of Molly Hoover is not something you want to be doing for an hour like I have. I don't know why I'm hesitating, because I'm nervous, or because talking to Molly is the last thing I want to do.

Finally, I decide to stop being a baby, and get on with it. I reach out and grab my phone and slowly type in the number. I press the dial button, and the pressure begins. I hear the dial tone and wait.

The hum of the phone ringing, and the blood rushing through my ears is all I can hear as I wait.

And then an answer.

"Hello? Who is this?" I hear Molly say.

"Um…" I say unsure of what I should do.

"Um, this is someone from school." I muffle my voice so she can just make out my words but can't recognize my voice.

There's a pause.

"Um, like who from school?" She says in her usual snobby voice.

"Oh, just someone."

"Do you know who I am, because if this is a prank call I'll-"

"No! I mean, it's not a prank call, and yes I know who you are you stupid little…. Angel…"

"Umm ok? Whatever, what do you want?"

"I know there's a tattoo on your left arm, and that you have no idea where it came from."

"Ok, that's creepy. Who the heck are you, like, you're not, like, Donna and Rose are you? That was totally supposed to be confidential you guys!"

"I can assure you that I'm not either one of those awfu-, I mean, _wonderful _people."

"If you're trying to black mail me, it's not going to work, stalker. You won't get anyone to believe I'm a tattoo wearing punk freak."

"I'm not going to black mail you, I just wanted to ask you a few simple questions."

"Like what?"

"Have you experienced any weird things, like strange Glurkn-, I mean_ Pear_ cravings, and/or Burning lungs and randomly blacking out?"

"Noooo…? I have no idea what you're talking about. " Molly says nervously.

"Ok, that's all I need to know. Th-….Th-…. Thank you." I manage to cough out and I quickly hang up.

I sigh. She sounded nervous when I asked her about the symptoms of the tattoo. That probably meant she was lying about not having any of those things happen to her. I might've lied about it too if I had her social status and was a total idiot. After all, if anyone knows black mail, it's me.

So this confirms my suspicions. Whatever the tattoos mean, their preparing us for the same thing. I believe they're either tests, or more likely giving us some sort of ability we might need in whatever stage five is, which is probably after they come and take us.

I have started to put the events in stages. Stage one, being chosen. Stage two, the mark appearing. Stage three the symptoms, which have been, passing out, going into a daze, food cravings, and lungs burning. Stage four is when they will come for us, and stage 5 is whatever comes next.

"Mom, why couldn't you have explained this to me?! Why do I have to figure it out by myself?" I say.

I reach down to stroke my skull pendant, but realize that it's gone. My mother gave it to me to protect myself, and Molly destroyed it. That was the worst blow. Not just losing my protection, but losing my final connection to my mother. I only have the nightmare now, which is more painful than everything I've gone through. I slip off my sweatshirt, realizing that its warmness combined with the heat in my room is making me sweat

I turn off my light, its 10:45 PM. I wonder how the time has gone by so quickly. Tomorrow is skool again. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm glad to go back to skool. The boring droning of the teacher seems better than being left alone to my thoughts. I learned a long time ago that you can go insane from exploring your own mind. You can find things in the darkest corners you never knew were there.

If you can learn how to control those things, they'll spread like fungi. I rest my head on my pillow, trying to forget about everything. I hear thunder outside, and then it begins to pour.

XxxxX

Magera turned to look at Lorak in his captain's chair. 5 years of flight school to be stuck with the job of being a co-captain to someone who raised his voice if you turned up the air.

"When are we starting faze 1?" Magera asked absent mindedly.

"In the morning." Lorak replied curtly.

"So we'll deploy the collectors shortly before in the net zone?" Magera asked.

"Yes Magera, and we'll send an extra to take care of subject Membrane since she'll only be half drugged."

"Wait, I forgot, why don't we just give her more, we have extra."

"Because, humans tend to be very weak, and their chemical tolerance is significantly low. Giving her a full dose now right after, thanks to your mistake, she's had a half dose could kill her."

"Oh" Magera said quietly, pausing for a minute.

"Do you think I could go down during the procedure? We only need one person manning the teleport."

"Magera, you know protocol dictates that all nonmilitary trained crew members must stay in the ship unless there's an emergency."

"But Lora-"

"I said no Magera!" Lorak said.

Magera slumped down in her seat, staring blankly at the monitor showing the Membrane household at nighttime. This job never got exciting, ever.

XxxxX

My eyes open, and it doesn't feel right. My internal senses tell me it's early in the morning, but I'm not tired. My alarm for 6:30 AM rings, confirming my suspicions. I try to reach and turn the alarm off, but my arm feels numb and doesn't move. I lay there for a moment, wondering if I have sleep paralysis. Then my legs move; against my will.

I tell myself no, don't get up, don't move, but I slowly stand up. As my frustration rises the alarm seems to be getting louder and more irritating. I begin to walk to the door and I feel sick. I can feel my muscles flexing and tightening, but I can't tell them to stop. I open my door and walk down the hallway.

I can hear Dib downstairs, he always gets up early. I move in a steady pace towards the stairs. I try to stop, I force myself to grab the staircase railing. The motion instantly makes me feel severely groggy and it knocks me off guard. I twitch for a moment, trying to fight myself. I'm not wearing my sweatshirt, if I go downstairs Dib will see my tattoo.

I am too weak. My body begins walking again down the stairs and I feel awake again. I try to stop, but every brief pause makes me tired. I finally make if to the floor and see Dib's eyes shift to look at me. I walk towards the door, but Dib is in the way.

"Gaz, Dad is worried about you, he told me you didn't even say hi yesterday." Dib says.

"He was home? I didn't notice." I tell him in my natural uncaring manner.

Dib steps closer as I continue walking.

"Gaz are you okay, I know you're going to yell at me, but we need to talk. Is that a tattoo?" Dib asks examining it as I keep walking.

"No I'm fine. Go away Dib." I say in a cold voice.

He puts a hand on my shoulder and I stop.

"Gaz…."

I whirl around, not knowing where this energy comes from.

"Just stop it Dib, stop trying to take care of me, stop trying to know me, stop trying to be mom!"

"What, Gaz, I'm not..."

"Shut up Dib! Stop being an idiot!"

"Stop acting like you're the only person that matters! You don't think I miss mom too? She was selfish and killed herself, I wouldn't act this way if it wasn't for her!"

If only he knew.

I feel it again, I feel my motions happening without me, but all I can think about is my rage.

"DON'T YOU EVER TALK ABOUT MOM THAT WAY!"

"Gaz its tru-"

"JUST SHUT UP DIB, YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT HER, OR WHAT SHE DID!" I yell.

Before I know what's happening, I throw a punch and Dib falls to the ground. There's blood streaming from his jaw and I feel sick. That couldn't have been me, I haven't beat Dib up horribly since I was a child. Or did I do it out of rage?

I feel sick and run for the door, complying with my body's automatic motions. I did it, I finally did it. Dib will never forgive me for this, I've finally lost him. I feel like crying, but I can't find tears. I also can't be completely sorry because of what he said about mom. How could he be so ignorant? As I'm thinking, I let my body take control, carrying me down the street.

I walk towards the woods, and at this point I don't resist. Whatever lies in there is better than facing my brother again. I feel the shell of coldness that took years to build peeling away, leaving me exposed. I am barefooted but I can't feel the ground beneath my feet. I almost feel magnetized. I see a clearing up ahead and see that it is my destination. I struggle to control myself, this time it's a little easier than my first few attempts.

I bend down behind a bush and peek into the clearing. I feel unnaturally tired, as if my body is saying "Succumb to me or to sleep." Sleep seems better, but I have a feeling that succumbing to sleep will lead to the same place.

At first I see nothing in the clearing. Then I hear rustling in the bushes a few feet away. I quickly roll away, not realizing there was someone else here, but after a moment I don't feel anything and peer back over the bushes. I see a boy walking into the clearing. I faintly recognize him as a seventh grader I knew when I was in 8th grade. He's horribly skinny, probably not even over 120 pounds. As he walks towards the center like a zombie, I see another boy step out from the bushes across the clearing.

I think I recognize him from the school football team. He's muscular and tall, and probably a standard girl's idea of handsome. He doesn't really do anything for me. Both boys walk groggily toward the center of the clearing. Something in their eyes looks… off…

Suddenly something clicks in my mind. This must be why they chose people from this town, they wanted them all to come here. I wonder how they knew I would move to this town. Have they been manipulating my entire life? I don't think too much about it though because something begins to happen.

As I notice Molly make her way into the clearing in the same state as the other two people appear, two creatures, with a flash of light, spawn next to them. I lean back a little, taken back by their sudden appearance. I don't get a look at the creature's faces because they're turned around, but they look familiar. Definitely not human though. Two creatures extend their fingers to the boys, and with a flash of light both the two aliens and the boys disappear.

The two stand there waiting for Molly to make her way towards them. One turns around to examine the clearing, probably looking for me, and I gasp and fall. I can't help it, the face is so familiar. It's the same face from my nightmare. Cold black eyes, sharp teeth, its body disfigured and misshapen. I can hear strange whirring and clicking sounds, then heavy footsteps and know that I have to run.

I get up and begin to run back the way I came, this time feeling every single prick on the ground. As I cut my way through the forest my sleepiness has an impact on me. My usual keen agility and fast running are gone. I feel the same dazed feeling I did before. I stumble over a tree stump and glance behind me. They're at least 8 feet away and gaining. They have large boots on that seem to make their steps spring. I turned back around panting. I can hear them rasping and their eyes entranced in the back of my head. All I can think about is escaping. I see the road up ahead, so close.

I know I can't last long. Weariness is eating away at me and it seems like the short path I took to get here was increased by miles. I decide that going out into the street is my best option. Even if humanity is remarkably stupid, the aliens probably don't want to draw too much attention.

All is going well until I feel a sharp pain spread through my foot. The same one I hurt kicking a kid at skool. I shriek in pain as I step on the spike, crumbling to the ground. I cradle my leg as they begin to approach cautiously. I can hear them coming for me, their steps getting closer. I remember my mom and almost sob. This is how it ends. I close my eyes and feel a slight breeze against my face and for a moment, just a moment, I except my fate. I feel something poke my back, and then darkness.

XxxxX

I open my eyes slowly to see a fuzzy white color.

I groan and blink twice, trying to grasp on to a memory of what had happened to me.

I was in my house, and I had a fight with Dib. I remember feeling guilty, although I don't know why considering I never feel guilty about our fights. Then I was in the forest, then I was running from…them.

"Uggghhh" I mutter as I move to stretch my arms. They hit a cold metal wall. I feel it and realize I'm in some sort of pod. I bang the fuzzy glass above me with the palms of my hands. All I can think of is those horrible creatures, not even blinking an eye as they discarded my mother's life. Would they be as merciful with me, or was torture the last stage?

"LET ME OUT!" I scream, pounding again.

"LET ME OUT YOU MONSTERS LET ME OUT!" I scream again.

It's useless.

I pound harder and harder, screaming over and over again. I finally give up and let my arms drop, heaving. I can hear my heart beat and nothing else. I stare up and see something through the glass. It's green with splotches of blue on it. The blur is a face.

XxxxX

"Faze one complete." Lorak announces to no one imparticular.

He does that a lot, he even talks to himself sometimes for hours.

"I think that went pretty well." He says, his head gesturing to me.

_Yeah, besides the fact that one tried to run away._ I think

In response I just glare at him. I'm still mad about the fact that he wouldn't let me go down during the procedure. I never get to explore the planets we go to, and that was what I thought I'd be doing half the time. Years of schooling to live a tedious life of abducting people from their home worlds and piloting a space ship, that was boring. Lorak just always has to follow the rules. He can be a real pain sometimes, even if he is terribly attractive.

"Magera, I know you're mad at me, but I'm just following the rules." Lorak tells me.

"Here we go again, Magera, the rules are important, we're not allowed to have fun!" I snap at him, crossing my arms. I see him open his mouth but I ignore him and watch the monitors showing the subjects in their containment chambers. All of them are peacefully asleep, except one subject, who is pounding on the viewing glass part of hers.

"Lorak she's going to break that thing, I need to go down and subdue her." I say, hoping I'll get a chance at excitement.

He looks at me and shakes his head.

"C'mon, please?" I ask

"Well fine, but try to keep interaction minimal, subject Membrane escaping her pod would be bad."

"Yay! I mean, of course captain sir!" I say as I jump out of my chair.

I know that technically this is just to make sure she doesn't break the pod, which I have no idea why they made so fragile, but I still hope that I may be able to communicate with her. It wouldn't be impossible, Galairic ship computers can tap into psychic links and translate any language. We had used it on Earth when monitoring, but it wasn't very necessary. Earth's language is very similar to Galairia's and I can almost speak it fluently.

The one thing we Galairians pride ourselves on is our technology. We were the first beings in the known great species to invent realistic AIs and computers that can hook into your brain. Don't get it confused with Irkens, whose brains are in their PAKs and have slightly sentient control brains. Our brains are actual organs, much like humans, just upgraded. The ship learns from the crew and the crew learns from the ship. Galairic technology always fascinated me in school.

As I walk down the sterile white hallway I get passed by the collectors. I shiver. All military workers are genetically altered for war and physical labor. I have no idea why that requires obliterating their natural faces. I suppose their nasty appearance is given to frighten the enemy, but when it's not doing that there's no use in it. The military workers, or whatever you'd like to call them, practically have their own language of whirring and clicking noises. It is hard to tell what they are feeling, if they even feel at all. One brushes past me, the coldness in his body transferring to mine.

I glance back at them before rushing ahead. There are rumors of military workers going crazy and ganging up on captains and other crew members, I don't want to be alone with any of them, even if it is just one.

I walk into the elevator, which is a see through cylinder shape with a levitating disk to stand on.

"Prisoner Bay." I announce to the computer.

As I descend I look at my reflection in the glass. My blue robe almost touches the floor, and is ruffled. I look awkward with my hands at my sides and my posture impaired. I don't radiate importance or dignity. I straighten up and raise my chin a little. If I'm going to be representing the Galairic race I may as well be good at it.

I enter the prisoner bay which is at first a long hallway of cells that instead of bars have a transparent blue force field covering the front.

"Computer, prepare containment chamber A1 for one resident." I say trying to sound official.

At full capacity our prisoner bay can hold approximately 200 inmates if all rooms are at maximum fullness. The prisoner bay is only a medium sized level, so imagine how huge the ship is with all 13 levels. I wonder how Earth can be so blind to such a giant ship right beside their planet. We have only deployed the lowest cloaking shield we have and there has been no indication from the humans that we are here. I scoff. If only these ignorant humans knew. We could blast a chunk out of their planet and they wouldn't know. Obviously Membrane had some knowledge about aliens, her brother had seemed genuinely interested in it from the feeds.

We had thought about Membrane's brother as well, as to stir up drama in the games, but someone in the council was against that. We have no idea why, but our job is to follow orders, not question them.

I walked into the sleep suspension room. The four pods are propped up against the wall. The glass is fuzzy but I can see the bliss faces of each person. It almost makes me feel sick, knowing that these peaceful faces will be no more in a matter of days. If I had another line of work I'd leave this job, but the games only come every twenty years so it's not like I have to do this that often. In the years between picking up contestants from the wild card planets, Lorak and I transport military persons and equipment, as well as occasionally piloting galactic cruise liners. Last year we flew to the beaches of Crystalalium.

"LET ME OUT!" I hear Membrane scream.

I peer over her escape pod, not quite sure what to do. I stand there for a moment and everything is silent. If Lorak is watching, he's definitely face palming.

"Okay, I'm going to escort you somewhere else, but you have to promise not to attack me." I say, carefully trying to pronounce the English words.

I don't hear anything, I don't even know if I said the words right. I feel stupid for saying that, but maybe she's so afraid she won't try to attack. Either way I get into defense position with my handcuffs out. _Okay. I think to myself. A new adventure starting in three two one._

I open the latch and the pod swings open.

XxxxX

**Author's Note: **

**Invaderness Signing On **

**What a wonderful chapter indeed! I felt Gaz was a little OOC in this chapter but that's up to you to decide. I'm having a fun time writing this, and updates are on the way. Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. I really appreciate them and I love reading your reviews. Also as you may or may not know, Invadercon in Austin, Texas is coming up soon and we're going to be there. We hope that you all come and look forward to meeting other IZ fans. Thank you again for all your support! Bai!**

**Invaderness Signing Off**

**Then Darkness Fell Signing On**

**Hey guys! First off, like Invaderness said, Thank you guys so much for the reviews, favs, and follows! We appreciate them greatly, and hope you are enjoying. Anyways, so there might, possibly be another chapter tomorrow sometime, if we can get around to it. We really are getting excited to start writing the chapters closer to the main events in the story! Anyways, so be watching for Chapter 6! Cya!**

**Then Darkness Fell Signing Off**


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